Microsoft Certified Data Analyst Associate Power BI Data Modeling 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the difference between a measure and a calculated column in Power BI?
- Measures are stored in the table; calculated columns are not
- Measures are computed dynamically at query time; calculated columns are computed at refresh and stored (Correct answer)
- Measures use M language; calculated columns use DAX
- There is no functional difference
Correct answer: Measures are computed dynamically at query time; calculated columns are computed at refresh and stored
Measures evaluate dynamically based on filter context at query time, while calculated columns are computed during refresh and stored in the model.
Question 2: In a star schema, what is the purpose of a fact table?
- To store descriptive attributes about business entities
- To store measurable, quantitative data about business events (Correct answer)
- To store lookup values for dropdowns
- To define relationships between dimension tables
Correct answer: To store measurable, quantitative data about business events
Fact tables store numeric measurements (like sales amount, quantity) related to business events, referencing dimension tables via foreign keys.
Question 3: What Power BI feature allows you to define a specific column to sort another column's display order?
- Conditional formatting
- Sort by Column (Correct answer)
- Data category
- Hierarchy
Correct answer: Sort by Column
The 'Sort by Column' feature lets you sort a column (like month name) by a different numeric column (like month number) to achieve correct ordering.
Question 4: Which Power BI feature allows you to group related tables and measures into logical sections in the model?
- Bookmarks
- Display folders (Correct answer)
- Hierarchies
- Perspectives
Correct answer: Display folders
Display folders let you organize fields and measures into folders in the Fields pane, improving model usability for report authors.
Question 5: What is a composite model in Power BI?
- A model that uses only DirectQuery tables
- A model that combines Import and DirectQuery tables in the same report (Correct answer)
- A model with multiple fact tables
- A model with more than 10 relationships
Correct answer: A model that combines Import and DirectQuery tables in the same report
Composite models allow you to mix Import and DirectQuery storage modes in a single Power BI dataset for performance and freshness flexibility.
Question 6: What does the 'Mark as Date Table' option do in Power BI?
- Automatically creates a date hierarchy
- Tells Power BI to use the table's date column for built-in time intelligence functions (Correct answer)
- Enables date filtering in slicers
- Imports a calendar from SharePoint
Correct answer: Tells Power BI to use the table's date column for built-in time intelligence functions
Marking a table as a Date Table disables auto date/time tables and tells Power BI to use the specified date column for time intelligence calculations.
Microsoft Certified Data Analyst Associate Power BI Data Modeling 2
What is the difference between a measure and a calculated column in Power BI?